Hardy Billington claims gay sex is more dangerous than smoking
A Republican candidate set to win a seat in the Missouri House has said gay sex kills more people than smoking.
Hardy Billington is running to represent Poplar Bluff, a city in Butler County. Around 80% of residents voted for Donald Trump in 2016.
The 65-year-old has published two adverts in the city’s newspaper in support of homophobic policies.
The ad called for a Section 28-style law, stopping people from mentioning LGBTI people in schools.
Republican claims gay sex kills more people than smoking
‘Study after study reveals that homosexuality, whether male or female, can take anywhere from 10, 20 to 30 years off of someone’s lifespan,’ he said.
‘With all the attention on smoking, which the National Cancer Institute says takes from seven to 10 years off someone’s life, why not the same human outcry on homosexuality?“
‘Here’s a behavior that’s killing people two to three times the rate of smoking, yet nobody seems to care.
‘In fact, we are encouraging and affirming individuals into the “gay” lifestyle.
‘If you truly love someone, you would steer them away from self-destructive behaviours, rather than towards them, shouldn’t you?
‘Homosexuals need our tough love, not blind love, the kind of love that is going to love them no matter what they say and do.
‘We must extend that helping hand and say ‘I think you’re worth saving. Let’s work on it together.’
‘Homosexuality is Sin’
In 2015, just as the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in the US, Billington bought another advert.
He urged readers to pray for the Supreme Court to reject same-sex marriage.
‘Homosexuality is Sin,’ he said. ‘The love of Jesus can Save You and Change You’.
Former circuit judge and assistant prosecutor Robert L Smith is running against Billington.
He told the St Louis Post-Dispatch he could not allow Billington to run unopposed.
‘I’ve known Hardy for 30 years, and I knew he had published those ads,’ said Smith.
‘I don’t think it’s right to discriminate against people because of who they are.’
Greg Razer, a Kansas City gay Democrat, opposes Billington.
He said: ‘What might take years off of peoples’ lives are young people growing up in communities where they hear this [rhetoric] spouted from people of authority.
‘Those teenagers then commit suicide, that’s how years come off your life.’
Straight Republican candidate Antonio Sabàto Jr has R-rated gay film history
